GASEOUS CARBON WASTE
STREAMS UTILIZATION
Status and Research Needs
Committee on Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Division of Earth and Life Studies
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by Contract No. DE-DT001236, DE-SC0017935, and DE-EP0000026 with the U.S Department of Energy and Shell. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-48336-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-48336-0
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25232
Additional copies of this publication are available for sale from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2019 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization: Status and Research Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25232.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.
COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPING A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR UTILIZATION OF GASEOUS CARBON WASTE STREAMS
Members
DAVID T. ALLEN, NAE, University of Texas, Austin
MARK A. BARTEAU, NAE, Texas A&M University
MICHAEL BURKART, University of California, San Diego
JENNIFER DUNN, Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory
ANNE M. GAFFNEY, Idaho National Laboratory
RAGHUBIR GUPTA, Susteon, Inc.
NILAY HAZARI, Yale University
MATTHEW KANAN, Stanford University
PAUL KENIS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
HOWARD KLEE, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (retired)
GAURAV N. SANT, University of California, Los Angeles
CATHY L. TWAY, The Dow Chemical Company
Staff
DAVID M. ALLEN, Senior Program Officer
CAMLY TRAN, Senior Program Officer
ELIZABETH ZEITLER, Senior Program Officer
TERESA FRYBERGER, BCST Director
ANNA SBEREGAEVA, Associate Program Officer
ERIN MARKOVICH, Senior Program Assistant/Research Assistant
BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Co-Chairs
DAVID BEM, PPG Industries
JOAN BRENNECKE, NAE, University of Texas, Austin
Members
GERARD BAILLELY, Procter and Gamble
MARK A. BARTEAU, NAE, Texas A&M University
MICHELLE V. BUCHANAN, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
JENNIFER SINCLAIR CURTIS, University of California, Davis
RICHARD EISENBERG, NAS, University of Rochester
SAMUEL H. GELLMAN, NAS, University of Wisconsin–Madison
SHARON C. GLOTZER, NAS, University of Michigan
MIRIAM E. JOHN, Sandia National Laboratories (retired)
ALAN D. PALKOWITZ, Eli Lilly and Company (retired)
JOSEPH B. POWELL, Shell
PETER J. ROSSKY, NAS, Rice University
RICHMOND SARPONG, University of California, Berkeley
TIMOTHY SWAGER, NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
TERESA FRYBERGER, Board Director
MARILEE SHELTON-DAVENPORT, Senior Program Officer
CAMLY TRAN, Senior Program Officer
ANNA SBEREGAEVA, Associate Program Officer
JARRETT I. NGUYEN, Senior Program Assistant
JESSICA WOLFMAN, Senior Program Assistant
SHUBHA BANSKOTA, Financial Associate
Preface
Global emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, caused by human activities, are now in excess of 35,000 teragrams (Tg) per year, or roughly 5 tons per person per year on a mass basis, dominated by CO2. In countries with advanced economies, like the United States, emissions per capita are larger, in excess of 15 tons per person per year. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to levels that are consistent with limiting the extent of global warming to less than a 2°C increase over pre-industrial temperatures, will require a variety of approaches. Some approaches, such as expanding the use of energy sources that have low greenhouse gas emissions, will prevent emissions. Other approaches involve capturing greenhouse gas emissions; however, capturing and permanently sequestering gigatons of waste gas per year is technically challenging and imposes costs. An alternative to sequestration is to find a productive use for captured greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane. The Committee on Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams examined the roadblocks to commercialization of technologies that could utilize captured greenhouse gases. These technologies are mostly in their infancy, but, if successful, could create greenhouse gas mitigation technologies that can be operated at little cost or even provide net economic value.
There are reasons to be optimistic. Already there are commercial technologies, operating at relatively small scale, that are or could be using waste gas as their raw materials. Additional fundamental research and process development could enable even more carbon utilization pathways operating at scales that could collectively approach 1 gigaton per year. Expanding carbon utilization to a gigaton scale, however, would require not just fundamental breakthroughs and process development but also the creation of enabling purification, transport, and other infrastructures.
In its report, the Committee on Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams identifies advances that could enable much more extensive carbon utilization. Addressing this complex and multifaceted task required a committee with a broad set of expertise, ranging from fundamental research to product and process commercialization, and from biotechnology to cement and concrete production. I thank the committee
members, who gave generously of their time and effort and who both learned from and informed their fellow committee members. I also thank the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine staff who organized us and our report, improved our writing, and supported the committee’s work in many other ways. Finally, I thank the reviewers, whose thoughtful comments improved the technical content and presentation of the report.
David T. Allen, Chair
Committee on Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams
Acknowledgments
The completion of this study would not have been successful without the assistance of many individuals and organizations. The committee would especially like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contribution during this study:
U.S. Department of Energy and Shell, which sponsored the study and provided valuable data to help address the statement of task. The committee would especially like to thank Joe Powell (Shell), Todd Anderson (Office of Biological and Envrionmental Reseacrch), Bruce Garrett (Office of Basic Energy Sciences), Zia Haq and Devinn Lambert (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy), and John Litynski (Office of Fossil Energy), who served as the Department’s liaison to the committee and was effective in responding to the committee’s requests for information.
Speakers and invited participants at the committee’s data-gathering meetings. These individuals are listed here: Madhav Acharya, ARPA-E; Vahit Atakan, Solidia Technologies; Harry Atwater, California Institute of Technology; Kathy Ayers, Proton Onsite; André Bardow, Aachen University; Abhoyjit Bhown, Electric Power Research Institute; Jean Bogner, University of Illinois, Chicago; Walter Breidenstein, GasTechno; Joseph Bushinsky, Air Liquide; Paula Carey, Carbon8; Trapti Chaubey, Air Liquide; Steven Chu, Stanford University; Bernard David, Global Carbon Dioxide Initiative; Heleen DeWever, BioRecover; Amgad Elgowainy, Argonne National Laboratory; Marcius Extavour, Carbon X-Prize; Aaron Goldner, Sen. Whitehouse; Christopher Gurtler, Covestro; John Hansen, Haldor Topsoe A/S; David Hazlebeck, Global Algae Innovations; Rich Helling, The Dow Chemical Company; Howard Herzog, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech; Elizabeth Horner, Sen. Barrasso; Hillary Hull, Environmental Defense Fund; Aqil Jamal, Aramco Performance Materials; Mark Jones, The Dow Chemical Company; Walter Leitner, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy; Stuart Licht, George Washington University; Sean Monkman, CarbonCure; Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, Columbia University; Bob Perciasepe, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions; Allison Pieja, Mango Materials; Phil Pienkos, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Brian Sefton, Oakbio; Ómar Sigurbjörnsson,
Carbon Recycling International; Steven Singer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Tim Skone, National Energy Technology Laboratory; Eric Stangland, The Dow Chemical Company; Ben Woolston, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Yuan-Sheng Yu, Lux Research.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
ALEXIS BELL, (NAS/NAE) University of California Berkeley
MARY BIDDY, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
JENNIFER HOLMGREN, (NAE) LanzaTech
CYNTHIA JENKS, Argonne National Laboratory
CLIFF KUBIAK, University of California, San Diego
DAVID MYERS, GCP Applied Technologies
CORINNE SCOWN, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
STEVEN SINGER, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
GREGORY STEPHANOPOULOS, (NAE) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JENNIFER WILCOX, Colorado School of Mines
HAIBO ZHAI, Carnegie Mellon University
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by JOHN ANDERSON, Illinois Institute of Technology, and ELISABETH DRAKE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They were responsible for making certain that an
independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
Contents
Enabling Resources, Technologies, and Analyses
2 GASEOUS CARBON WASTE RESOURCES
Characterization of Carbon Waste Streams
Matching Carbon Waste Streams with Utilization Processes: Research Needs
3 MINERAL CARBONATION TO PRODUCE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
Emerging Technologies for Mineral Carbonation
A Research Agenda for Mineral Carbonation
4 CHEMICAL UTILIZATION OF CO2 INTO CHEMICALS AND FUELS
Emerging Technologies for CO2 Conversion into Commodity Chemicals and Fuels Based on Product
Intersecting Research Challenges for CO2 Conversion
A Research Agenda for Chemical Utilization of Carbon Dioxide
Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendations
5 BIOLOGICAL UTILIZATION OF CO2 INTO CHEMICALS AND FUELS
Photosynthetic Approaches to Carbon Dioxide Utilization
Nonphotosynthetic Approaches to Carbon Dioxide Utilization
A Research Agenda for Biological Utilization of Carbon Dioxide
6 METHANE AND BIOGAS WASTE UTILIZATION
Commercial Technologies for the Chemical Utilization of Methane
Direct Chemical Utilization of Methane Waste Gas Streams
Biological Approaches for Utilization of Methane Waste Gas Streams
A Research Agenda for Chemical and Biological Utilization of Methane and Biogas
7 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES AND RESOURCES
8 LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF CARBON UTILIZATION
Factors to Consider in LCA of Carbon Utilization Systems
9 ASSESSING COMMERCIAL VIABILITY OF CARBON UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGIES
Assessment of the Technology Area